Vomiting and a Love Letter to a Math Teacher
Let me state this clearly;
although I had good math teachers when I was in school, I am NOT a math
person. Honestly, I hate math. (Sorry!) I have math anxiety.
I have math-phobia. I am TRYING not to pass this on to my son...
Back in the beginning of the
school year (actually before the school year actual began) when I saw the list
of teachers my son was going to have for the year, I was a little apprehensive
(ok, maybe more than a little) about his math teacher. There was no
information on her on the school's website, but digging around I found that she
had taught for only 2 years at our high school. Immediately, I RUSHED to
judgement. (You can already see the wrongness here, right?) She's
young. She's doesn't have a lot of experience. What does she
know? This is going to be a disaster!
WRONG!
I immediately changed my mind
on back to school night. (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-tale-of-two-teachers.html)
I was wrong, Wrong, WRONG!
Since that back to school
night, this teacher has proven to be one of the best teachers I have ever met
and that my son has been lucky enough to have. We have kept in touch via
email letting me know of his achievements: "I was just grading J's
test and he did really well! He earned an 86.5%. I could tell he felt more
confident when he was handing it in today. I am very proud of his hard work and
I hope he is too!" She lets me know when he is struggling AND has a
plan to help him: "On this quiz he
didn't answer 3 of the questions which was really what brought his grade down. The
other mistakes came from forgetting to multiply (he added instead) for a few of
the problems. If J ever feels that he is rushed during the quiz, he can ask for
extra time after school or during lunch to finish. I never really time quizzes
or tests as I would rather give students the time they need to check over their
work. Also, I think that J would benefit from some extra practice. Before the
next test I will be providing him with extra practice problems that I suggest
he work on at home (a few problems a night to just make sure he is getting the
hang of it). In addition, I will be changing his seat today. He is very tall so
I had him sitting in the back, however I think moving him up front will help
him stay focused in class. "
But what does this have to do with vomiting? Let me backtrack (yet again).
I have been blessed with a child who is very rarely ill. He had his share of colds, particularly when he was in nursery school (the first year was the killer), but he is generally a pretty healthy kid. He missed one day of school last year and that was not due to illness, but to a family function that took place on a Friday. The last illness I can recall was this past summer when he got strep right after school let out: https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/schools-out-summer-vacation.html. Since then, nada...
Or at least until 4:45 am Wednesday morning...
Usually I'm up before then, but Tuesday was a
snow day and Wednesday there was a delayed opening, so I planned to sleep until
after 5. (Just to keep you on the school calendar: Thursday is a
half day while the kids have Friday and Monday off.) My son comes into
our room and says he feels a little "urpy." I ask if he thinks
he's going to throw up; he replies no. We think it just might be
gas. He doesn't feel warm. He heads back to bed and I give him a
bit of a back rub to try and relax him. He says he feels a little better.
I go back to bed, but turn on the news to see what the weather might bring
today. I figure after 5 I'll head out and start cleaning up the snow and
ice that yesterday brought. I'm just thinking that I should get up and
get dressed when...
I hear this funny little cough coming from my
son's room. I know that cough. It's not really a cough. It's
a warning signal. I might have actually said "uh oh" out
loud. If I didn't, I definitely DID in my head. The next thing you
know my son is headed for the bathroom and I'm thinking he's not going to make
it. (Even though the bathroom is less than 10 feet away.)
By 5:30 the kid is back in bed
and I'm on my hands and knees in the bathroom trying to clean up a disgusting
explosion. (Parents you KNOW what I mean!) Delayed opening or not,
the kid was not going to school.
So how does this all lead back
to my favorite math teacher? Well, as of Monday, there was supposed to be
a math test on Tuesday. But Tuesday was a snow day. Which lead us
to Wednesday. But Wednesday was a delayed opening, which means less time per
class. The same can be said of Thursday (the half day). I really
don't want this hanging over his head with the four day weekend, so I did what
any good (non-helicoptering) mother would...I sent an email.
Wouldn't you know it; even
BEFORE the school day had begun, I had an email back which said in part:
"Due to the delay and the students
already having other tests planned for today I am actually moving the test to
next week Wednesday 2/20. This way they have some more time to prepare and they
don't rush through it."
What a teacher! She takes
into consideration other classes. She knows that time is an issue.
She's moving the test, but doesn't move it to the first day after the
break. She knows that they are not going to be studying over break, so
she plans another day to review and then a test. She is so
thoughtful! I LOVE it!
So this being Valentine's
Day...Ms. S, I just want you to know that I LOVE the way you think. I
LOVE the way you teach. I LOVE the attention you give not just to my son,
but to all your students. I LOVE that you are prepared for the
unexpected. I LOVE that you want them to learn and to be able to express
that knowledge. I LOVE that you are my son's teacher. Thank
you!
(And because this is Valentine's Day...I'd like to spread a little love to ALL teachers, especially in light of what happened one year ago in Parkland, Florida. You love and care for our kids, no matter what...Thank you!)
(And because this is Valentine's Day...I'd like to spread a little love to ALL teachers, especially in light of what happened one year ago in Parkland, Florida. You love and care for our kids, no matter what...Thank you!)
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